Miranda at a glance
Listed as an internationally significant wetland under the Ramsar Convention, the Miranda Taramaire Government Purpose Wildlife Management Reserve and nearby wetlands are a seasonal home to thousands of wading and shore birds.
The area (an hour's drive from Auckland), at the south-western corner of the Firth of Thames, is suitable for day or longer visits from Auckland or Waikato. The Miranda Naturalists' Trust manages a shorebird centre at the site and offers accommodation and guided programmes by arrangement.
The two teaching resources provide information on the area and shorebirds found at the Miranda Shorebird Centre and surrounding coastal wetlands. The Rangipo Museum is also located nearby on the Firth of Thames.
View the resources
- Miranda Wildlife Reserve teaching resource
- Shorebirds of Pukorokoro Miranda is an educational resource designed to match the modern curriculum. It includes background material, guides for teachers planning a visit and suggested activities.
About the resources
Learning areas
Primary:
- Science
- Social science
- Health & PE
- Technology
- English
- Mathematics
- Arts
Secondary:
- Science
Learning outcomes
Primary:
- Students will identify living things using external characteristics within broad groups e.g. different types of birds
- Students will understand the general functions of the main parts of birds, animals, and plants
- Students will understand the changes that take place in animals and birds during their life cycles
- Students will understand the responses of birds, plants or animals to environmental changes in their habitats
Secondary:
- Students will gain an understanding of order and pattern in the diversity of living organisms, including the special characteristics of New Zealand plants and animals
- Students will investigate and understand relationships between structure and function in living organisms
- Students will investigate and understand how organisms grow, reproduce and change over generations
- Students will investigate local ecosystems and understand the interdependence of living organisms, including humans, and their relationship with their physical environment
Links to curriculum
- Science: Living world: Ecology
- Social sciences: Identify culture and organisation, Place and environment
- Health and PE: Personal health and physical development
- English: Listening; Reading; Writing; Viewing; Presenting
- Mathematics: Geometry and measurement; Statistics
- Technology
- Arts
Topics
- Wetlands
- Native animals
